GST Registration Link to Aadhaar, may be must for Refunds

The GST Council on Friday took an in principle decision to link Aadhaar with registration of taxpayers under GST and also examine the possibility of malting the12-digit unique identification number mandatory for claiming refunds.

The council also decided to withdraw a circular issued in June, which prescribed that the additional discount given by a company to a dealer in certain cases will be liable for Goods and Services Tax (GST). As per an official release, the council also took an in principle decision to prescribe reasonable restrictions on passing of credit by risk tax payers in order to tackle the menace of fake invoices and fraudulent refunds.

The panel also recommended suitable amendments in CGST Act, UTGST Act, and the corresponding SGST Acts in view of creation of UTs of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. Meanwhile, during the meeting, 15^th Finance Commission Chairman NK Singh suggested that the council should deliberate on having either one, or at maximum two slabs under the GST regime.

He also pitched for hiking tax rate to meet the necessary revenue requirements. The Finance Commission also suggested building necessary consensus among the states to bring petroleum products, alcohol and electricity under the GST as soon as possible.